Cullen: 50 Points on NFL Week Five

Scott Cullen10/7/2013 2:02:11 PM

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A pinball game in Dallas, with Tony Romo and Peyton Manning putting on an aerial show, Graham's greatness, Charles in charge, Vick to the sidelines and more in Scott Cullen's 50 Points on NFL Week Five.

1. While he threw an interception -- a spectacular diving effort by Broncos LB Danny Trevathan, incidentally -- that ultimately led to the Broncos' game-winning field goal, Cowboys QB Tony Romo (25-for-36, 506 YDS, 5 TD, 1 INT) had an unbelievable game, engineering four touchdown drives longer than 75 yards. Though coming up short in that spotlight feels all too familiar for Romo, that performance was not one that should have been denigrated in any way.

2. Broncos QB Peyton Manning (33-for-42, 414 YDS, 4 TD, 1 INT) had another crazy game, but may have been the second-best quarterback on the field at Dallas.

5. Broncos TE Julius Thomas (9 REC, 122 YDS, 2 TD) is tied for second in the league with six touchdowns and ranks fourth among tight ends with 359 yards receiving.

6. Saints QB Drew Brees (29-for-35, 288 YDS, 2 TD) was efficient against the Bears, hooking up with TE Jimmy Graham (10 REC, 135 YDS, 11 targets) again. Graham leads the league with 593 receiving yards, averaging 31.0 yards per game more than Antonio Gates, the tight end with the second highest per-game yardage (87.6). Graham's dominance in the Saints' passing game, has left WR Marques Colston (2 REC, 15 YDS, 2 targets) on the outside looking in, to some degree. His 62.6 yards per game ranking as a career low for a receiver that has gone over 1,000 yards in six of his seven previous NFL seasons.

8. Eagles QB Michael Vick (6-for-14, 105 YDS) suffered a hamstring injury that will keep him out of action in Week Six. The goods for the Eagles is that Nick Foles (16-for-25, 197 YDS, 2 TD) was instrumental in Philadelphia's win over the Giants on Sunday and Foles should be prepared to run the offence smoothly, possibly on a more even keel than Vick, who varies from higher highs to lower lows.

9. Raiders QB Terrelle Pryor (18-for-23, 221 YDS, 2 TD; 31 YDS, 11 carries) was very effective against San Diego. The Chargers don't have a good defence, ranking 29th in yardage allowed, but Pryor continues to give the Raiders reason for hope.

10. Packers RB Eddie Lacy (99 YDS, 23 carries) returned to action and carried the load, exactly the kind of game that the Packers expected from the physical back when they drafted him in the second round.

13. Rams WR Austin Pettis (4 REC, 49 YDS, 2 TD, 5 targets) is emerging as a bit of playmaker, with four touchdowns on the season. He's been targeted 36 times in five games, more than Steve Smith, T.Y. Hilton and Denarius Moore.

14. It came in a losing effort, but Chargers QB Philip Rivers (36-for-49, 411 YDS, 2 TD, 3 INT) had another big game against the Raiders and now ranks third in yardage (1,610) and second in touchdown passes (13) this season.

15. Dolphins WR Mike Wallace (7 REC, 105 YDS, 16 targets) was targeted a lot against Baltimore, and while he went over 100 yards, he caught fewer than half of the balls sent his way. Among 33 players with at least 40 targets through five games, Wallace has the fourth-worst receiving percentage (50.0%), ahead of Kenbrell Thompkins, Vincent Jackson and Robert Woods.

17. Bears WR Alshon Jeffery (10 REC, 218 YDS, 1 TD, 13 targets) had a monster game against the Saints as the preferred target of QB Jay Cutler (24-for-33, 358 YDS, 2 TD). WR Brandon Marshall (4 REC, 30 YDS, 1 TD, 5 targets) wasn't used as much, but had missed practice time during the week with a foot injury, so it's not altogether surprising that Jeffery took on a bigger role.

18. Saints RB Pierre Thomas (91 YDS, 2 TD, 28 touches) had a productive, if not terribly efficient, day in Chicago. With Mark Ingram sidelined, there are more carries available for Thomas.

19. With RB Stevan Ridley hurt, LeGarrette Blount (51 YDS, 1 fumble, 12 carries) had the chance to carry the mail, but a lost fumble worked for him the same way it did for Ridley early in the year. Brandon Bolden (64 YDS, 11 touches) continued to be productive with limited touches.

20. Against his former team, Bengals RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis (67 YDS, 1 TD, 19 carries) took on a bigger role with the Bengals than he had in previous weeks. Giovani Bernard (69 YDS, 1 fumble, 15 touches) also lost a fumble, so perhaps that running back competition is a little closer than it looked heading into Week Five.

28. Packers WR James Jones (4 REC, 127 YDS, 1 TD, 6 targets) was tops among Green Bay receivers and has pulled just ahead of Randall Cobb in yardage (339 to 325) for the season.

29. In Kansas City, WR Donnie Avery (3 REC, 91 YDS, 4 targets) is emerging as a more productive option than big-money WR Dwayne Bowe (4 REC, 35 YDS, 6 targets). For the season, Avery has 304 yards and one touchdown, while Bowe has 183 yards and two scores. While this can be considered a credit to Avery, it's also an indictment of Bowe, who is barely a factor in the Chiefs' offence.

31. Panthers QB Cam Newton (21-for-39, 308 YDS, 3 INT, 1 fumble) had a dud of a game against Arizona. He's still ranked seventh in fantasy points per game (18.7) on TSN, but consistency remains a problem.

33. With Manuel out for 4-8 weeks, Thad Lewis has been named as the Bills' new starter, which seems like bad news for Bills recievers Robert Woods (5 REC, 64 YDS, 13 targets) and Stevie Johnson (2 REC, 19 YDS, 3 targets; also hurt Thursday).

35. Bills RB C.J. Spiller (66 YDS, 1 TD, 8 carries) was productive thanks to a 54-yard touchdown run and Fred Jackson (93 YDS, 2 TD, 21 touches) carried the bulk of the workload against Cleveland. With limited appeal to their passing game, expect Spiller and Jackson to get plenty of touches going forward. The issue, for those who thought Spiller could be an elite fantasy runner, is that Jackson has 82 touches to Spiller's 83. Tough to be a top producer with such an even split.

36. Good thing Titans RB Chris Johnson had a 49-yard touchdown catch and run, because his rushing numbers (17 YDS, 10 carries) were abysmal again. Johnson's 58.8 rushing yards per game is a career low.

43. Making the most of his few opportunities, Panthers WR Ted Ginn Jr. (4 REC, 78 YDS, 5 targets) leads Carolina wideouts with 221 receiving yards on 18 targets. His emergence is at least costing Brandon LaFell, if not Steve Smith, looks in the Carolina offence.

45. Texans QB Matt Schaub (19-for-35, 178 YDS, 3 INT) appears to be melting down. He's thrown an interception returned for a touchdown in four consecutive games, an NFL record. Schaub remains the Texans' starter, but that leash is getting shorter and T.J. Yates will be next in line if Schaub is benched.

46. 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick (6-for-15, 113 YDS, 1 TD) didn't do much of anything, yet his team still won 34-3. Kaepernick passed for 411 yards in the season opener and has passed for 557 yards (144.3 per game) in the four games since.

47. Raiders RB Rashad Jennings (41 YDS, 10 carries) was supposed to get most of the work in Darren McFadden's absence, but Jennings suffered a hamstring injury Sunday night, so Marcel Reese (57 YDS, 10 touches) got some touches too.